


Of Sofas and Laughter

by boats_birds



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Tickle Fights, Tickling, in which there's a lot of tickles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 02:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3961270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boats_birds/pseuds/boats_birds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko knew his observation skills were to be used for good and not evil. But Kagami was ticklish. And sometimes powers had to be used for evil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Sofas and Laughter

**Author's Note:**

> My friend wanted ticklish Kagami and so here I am. And I've learned I can only write fluff. Alas, this is my burden to bear. Hope it's just cute enough to leave some cavities~ Inspired very much by Ono Yuuki's laugh.

Kuroko knew his observation skills were to be used for good and not evil. He knew it, yet when Kagami dodged a prod to his ribs, Kuroko found himself wanting to turn to villainy.

His fingers had missed their target (in retaliation to something Kagami had said), instead gently brushing against Kagami’s skin. It wasn’t anything out of the norm really. Except, to his surprise, Kagami’s reaction. He had jumped with a squeak, face red and accusing, and proceeded to yell at Kuroko about “ _watching it_ ” for minutes after. The knowledge made Kuroko feel empowered, his lips quirking in amusement.

Kuroko knew his observation skills were to be used for good and not evil.

But Kagami was ticklish.

And sometimes powers had to be used for evil.

It began subtly. As subtle and secretive as Kuroko could be, meaning no one on the team noticed, not even Kagami himself. Kagami’s sides were assaulted daily, with a “misjudged” jab, or an “accidental” brush as Kuroko reached behind him. And Kagami responded every single time. A squeak. A blush. A yelp. A giggle, Kuroko’s favorite even when Kagami covered his own mouth and yelled, “Shut  _up_ , Kuroko!”

Through this observational study Kuroko took upon himself to conduct, he discovered something of grave importance. He loved Kagami’s laugh. But Kagami didn’t laugh nearly enough.

He noticed that each noise to leave Kagami’s mouth was different. Sometimes Kagami cackled when he heard a joke, or chuckled when Kuroko tried to be funny, or snorted when someone caught him off-guard. But when Kuroko touched his ribs, the sounds turned high-pitched, a shaky falsetto that was absolutely adorable.

The one thing Kuroko enjoyed most though was they were all loud, in an amplitude he considered “Kagami volume,” and each mirthful sound latched onto his eardrums with a ring.

However, Kuroko also quickly learned that as he grew to love Kagami’s laughs more and more, he was losing what little composure he had. What started with normal pokes and nudges, accompanied with a quiet lie of “I’m sorry, Kagami-kun,” quickly turned into purposeful prods of slender fingers with equal lies of “No, I didn’t mean to, Kagami-kun.”

Yet Kuroko couldn’t stop, not even when the team started noticing. Honestly, approaching Kagami was easier in the locker room, in the bustle of everyone changing and talking. Kuroko quickly preferred testing Kagami’s ticklish sides there, pretending to reach around him for towels and clothes. Until his dancing fingers skated across a dip between Kagami’s ribs, causing him to release a squawk that echoed off the walls.

Everyone stopped and turned to look at him, including Kuroko who stared up at him in bewilderment. He certainly wasn’t expecting that kind of noise to leave their tall ace.

Kiyoshi came over and whacked him on the back. “Are you alright, Kagami? Did you hurt yourself?” 

Kagami stumbled under the weight of Kiyoshi’s hand, but managed to stutter out, “N-no! I’m fine, senpai!”

A laugh echoed from the other side of the room as Koganei doubled over with his chortles, Mitobe worriedly looking between him and Kagami. Kuroko heard something suspiciously like, “He sounded like a girl!” before the bustle started back up. Kiyoshi went back to join the others while Hyuuga scolded Kagami for making such a racket.

Kuroko thought that would be the end of their ticklish adventures for today. Until he felt a grip on his head, squeezing.

“Ow, Kagami-kun. That hurts,” he mumbled. He knocked the hand away and peeked up at the taller only to have his heart thump heavy in his chest.

Kagami was scowling at him, and that wasn’t anything new, but his face was so _red_. There was a soft embarrassment in his eyes that Kuroko had never seen before, and a knowing glint. It made Kuroko’s own face and ears feel heated.

Kagami knew. If he didn’t know all the previous times, then he definitely knew now.

The unspoken tension built between them like the pink of their cheeks, until Kagami looked away and spoke, “Do you wanna come over today? We can watch the game from last night.”

Kuroko heard and felt himself agreeing before he even thought about it. Even though Kagami likely knew he had been tickling him (and then lying about it) this whole time, and even though he was more embarrassed than he had been in possibly his entire life, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend time with Kagami. He’d never been able to resist the temptation of the large apartment, especially since it contained delicious cooking, a soft couch, and his favorite redhead inside.

Which is how he found himself sitting stiffly beside Kagami on said couch.

He tried to focus on the game Kagami had recorded, eyes following the orange ball up and down the court, but by the second half he realized he didn’t even know the score. Instead, he was hyperaware of the boy sitting cross-legged beside him, tan knee bouncing. Kagami kept his eyes trained on the screen, and had barely looked at Kuroko since they stepped into his apartment. Even worse, he didn’t even scold Kuroko when Nigou hopped out of his bag to curl up on the floor like he always did.

It wasn’t that they didn’t often sit in silence, just watching games and bad American movies Kagami insisted he needed to see. In fact, Kuroko rather enjoyed their comfortable silences, since Kagami was one of the few people that understood him without any words being shared. But this wasn’t that kind of silence. This was the kind of quiet that Kuroko knew meant he was in trouble, or at least that there was a tension between them. He didn’t like it.

Kuroko inhaled slowly, then opened his mouth, so he could maybe explain himself and then all this unease would just go away. But at the exact same time, Kagami paused the game to turn and stare at him, studying. Kuroko’s mouth snapped shut, his blue eyes piercing into red.

Suddenly, Kagami reached out and prodded at his side.

Long fingers wiggled across his ribs, danced up to his underarm, and tried to find purchase there before skating elsewhere. Kagami traced over different parts of his side and neck, leaving Kuroko too speechless and shocked to even think of stopping him (or ask him what he was doing). Then Kagami’s hand dropped back to his side in defeat, as his face was overtaken by a flush.

…Did Kagami try to  _tickle_  him?

“Kagami-kun, did you just—”

“ _No!_  I mean, maybe. I mean,” he snapped away from Kuroko, scratching at the back of his neck. “So, y-you’re not ticklish?”

Blue eyes blinked owlishly up at him. “No, not particularly.”

Kagami sputtered, “D-don’t look at me like that! I was just trying to pay you back for all those times you did it to me! How was I supposed to know— _dammit, Kuroko, quit smiling like that_.”

His quiet grin grew a little with each word, and he felt the urge to laugh at how flustered Kagami was. The redhead’s blush never failed to make the butterflies in his stomach give a strong flutter, all while making him chuckle (because someone so big and clumsy should never be this cute).

Those split eyebrows scowled at him, furrowing. “Not that I really mind—except I kinda do when the entire team is involved—but,” he hesitated and took a breath, “why have you been tickling me?”

Kuroko swiveled around to face Kagami, then scooted closer to him. He watched the bob of Kagami’s throat as he swallowed, his mouth working to form words, but all that came out was, “Kuroko?”

Then he launched. Kagami’s girlish screams echoed through this apartment, followed by his booming laughter.

Pressed close in their tumble against the couch, Kuroko laying over the larger boy, he wriggled his fingers all over Kagami’s sides. Over his ribs, across his toned stomach, and into the dip of his neck, all to the redhead’s piercing laughs and tearful squeals. He kept tickling until Kagami ran out of breath, his laughter turning into wheezes. His eyes were squeezed shut, his cheeks were bright red, and his smile stretched his cheeks.

Kuroko had never seen anything so amazing.

“K-Kuro _ko_!” Kagami managed between his cackles. “Sto- _op_! It hurts, stop!”

Fingers stilling on Kagami’s firm chest, Kuroko did stop, but stayed pressed against him. He stared as Kagami reached to wipe away the little tears that had gathered in his eyes. He smiled, slow and soft, as he basked in the light that was Kagami.

He leaned closer, until their breaths mixed, causing Kagami’s eyes to widen comically. He looked into his own dark red reflection, and felt the tips of his ears heat in embarrassment. But he didn’t pull away, as they stared at each other.

“That’s why,” he stated.

“H-huh?”

“That’s why I’ve been tickling you. You have a nice laugh, Kagami-kun.”

Kagami blinked. Then his face erupted in red and he gripped Kuroko’s face in both hands, squeezing until Kuroko’s cheeks were smooshed. His forehead wrinkled with his scowl, his teeth bared. “I’m gonna get you back for this, you little shit.”

As Kagami then pulled at his cheeks, snorting in amusement as he did so, Kuroko thought he wouldn’t mind that at all. As long as Kagami kept laughing while he did.


End file.
